There are three methods for effecting the resuce of a swimmer in distress: swimming to the victim and effecting an in-water rescue, extension of a rescue device to the victim from the shore or vessel, and approaching the victim in a craft by water or air. The present invention relates to the second type of rescue, namely rescues effected from land or a vessel by extending a rescue device to the swimmer. Such devices include long poles, ropes, and floatation devices such as ring buoys, torpedo buoys (which are also used for inwater rescue), and other floating objects such as a surfboard. It is desired to keep contact with such a floatation device so that it may be retrieved for re-throwing, or to pull the swimmer in once the floatation device has been caught. This is typically done by attaching a rope to the floatation device.
It is very important that water safety resuce devices be readily available and always prepared for immediate use. This requires that they be located in close proximity to the water and than any preparations needed before use be taken care of well in advance of any contemplated use. For this reason, when a throwable floatation device such as a life ring is installed at a waterfront or on a boat, the rope attached to it will typically be neatly coiled and left adjacent to the buoy, either by hanging the coil up or laying it down next to the buoy.
A standard life ring includes a ring buoy (a doughnut shaped floatation device) with a rope connected to it. A float is often tied to the free-end of the rope, so that it is easily retrievable when accidently dropped into the water. The life ring is typically used by holding the free end of the rope at a point near its end between the float and the buoy, under the foot of the rescuer, or by otherwise securing it to a point on shore. The buoy is held loosely in the hand of the throwing arm of the rescuer and the coil of rope is held loosely in the other hand, with the coil side closest to the buoy facing out toward the water. The throwing arm is cocked several times in a wide arc as the rescuer's aim is set on the victim, then the throwing hand is opened at the peak of one of these arcs and the buoy is released on a trajectory toward the victim. As the buoy flies toward the victim, the successive coils of rope play out from the other hand of the rescuer. Once the victim has grabbed the buoy, the rescuer pulls the victim to safety by retrieving the rope.
A significant problem which has remained unsolved in the art is that the coil of rope tends to become tangled between and during uses. When the buoy is thrown, the tangled rope knots and jerks the buoy away from its flight path, usually causing it to fall short of the victim. The buoy must then be retrieved, the rope untangled and recoiled, and the throw attempted again. This is a very dangerous problem since time is essential in rescuing a distressed swimmer.
Various attempts have been made in the prior art to hold a ring buoy and its rope coil in a state of readiness. The U.S. Pat. No. to Barr (4,033,276) shows a support for life ring and associated retrieval line. This support is a bracket, mounted at a proper position on the shore or vessel having a pair of clamping members which apply pressure to opposite sides of a ring buoy, thus holding it up. The retrieval line is wound about the ends of the clamps. Although this earlier attempt does hold the rope and buoy ready for use, an added element of time is involved when removing the life ring and line from the holder. Also, the line may become tangled when carried or thrown, or could even be dropped. The Barr invention does not keep a life ring in a constant state of readiness.